Before dawn each morning at Mukindu Dam in Nyandarua County, a team of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) veterinarians and wildlife capture specialists quietly take up their positions. Their mission is unlike any ordinary field assignment. It is a delicate race against time to safely capture a growing population of hippopotamuses whose search for food has increasingly brought them into conflict with neighbouring farming communities.

For residents living around the dam, the nights have become anxious. Fields of maize painstakingly cultivated over months have become feeding grounds for the massive animals, while encounters between people and hippopotamuses have raised concerns for human safety. Yet for the KWS team on the ground, the challenge is not simply to remove the animals—it is to protect both human lives and one of Africa’s most iconic wildlife species.

Mukindu Dam, constructed in the 1940s to provide water for irrigation and domestic use, has gradually become an unexpected sanctuary for hippopotamuses. Scientists believe the animals migrated from nearby Lake Olbollosat around 2021 when prolonged dry conditions caused water levels to decline. A KWS assessment conducted in July 2025 recorded 52 hippopotamuses—25 adults and 27 juveniles—now calling the dam home. During the day, they remain concealed beneath thick mats of the invasive aquatic weed Salvinia molesta before emerging at night to forage in nearby farms.

As crop destruction intensified and cases of human-wildlife conflict increased, KWS activated its Veterinary and Capture Services Department to implement a carefully planned intervention. On 26 June 2026, a specialised veterinary and wildlife capture team from the Nanyuki Veterinary Unit established a field camp at Mukindu Dam and began one of the Service’s most delicate wildlife operations.

The team’s strategy is built on patience rather than force. A specially constructed habituation enclosure, commonly known as a boma, has been established where the hippopotamuses are gradually encouraged to enter through carefully managed feeding using cabbages, carrots, molasses, salt and other attractants. This method reduces stress on the animals and enhances the safety of both the wildlife and the capture team during the eventual translocation exercise.

Nature, however, has presented its own challenges.

Persistent heavy rainfall over the past week has altered the animals’ movement patterns, creating numerous escape routes from the approximately two-kilometre-long dam. The swampy terrain has limited access for heavy equipment, while the surrounding maize fields continue to lure the hippopotamuses away from the habituation area and into neighbouring farms. Rangers have worked around the clock to monitor exit points, but the scale of the dam and the prevailing weather have made the operation increasingly demanding.

Rather than retreat, the KWS team has adapted its strategy. Working closely with the Nyandarua County Government, a backhoe tractor has been mobilised to excavate a trench that will help guide the hippopotamuses towards the habituation enclosure. Additional fencing and boma construction materials have also been dispatched from KWS Headquarters to reinforce the capture site. These activities will continue alongside the feeding programme, with the Service anticipating the safe capture of the hippopotamuses within the coming week, subject to favourable conditions.

The Mukindu operation illustrates the complexity of wildlife conservation in a changing environment. As wildlife populations adapt to shifting habitats and communities expand into shared landscapes, managing human-wildlife conflict requires science, innovation, patience and strong partnerships with local communities. Every decision made by KWS seeks to safeguard human life while ensuring the humane treatment and conservation of Kenya’s wildlife.

The Kenya Wildlife Service appreciates the understanding, patience and cooperation demonstrated by the people of Mukindu and the support of the Nyandarua County Government throughout this operation. Such collaboration is critical in achieving lasting solutions that benefit both communities and wildlife.

KWS remains steadfast in its mandate to conserve and manage Kenya’s wildlife and biodiversity while protecting lives, livelihoods and property. Through professional wildlife management, scientific interventions and community partnerships, the Service continues to build a future where people and wildlife coexist safely and sustainably.

KWS urges residents around Mukindu Dam to avoid approaching the hippopotamuses or the ongoing capture operation and to promptly report any wildlife sightings or human-wildlife conflict incidents to the nearest KWS office or through the KWS toll-free hotline 0800 597 000. Together, through vigilance, cooperation and shared responsibility, we can protect our communities while conserving Kenya’s rich wildlife heritage for present and future generations.

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